The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Hasirani Rath, the mother of Chandranath Rath, as its candidate for the October 6 by-election to the Nandigram assembly seat. Chandranath Rath, Adhikari’s personal assistant, was shot dead on May 6, three days before Suvendu Adhikari took office as West Bengal chief minister. The BJP’s decision to field Rath’s mother follows the party’s sweeping victory in the May 6 state elections, which ended the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two BJP workers in July for allegedly planning Rath’s murder. The chargesheet, filed on August 7, names 12 accused. Hasirani Rath is expected to file her nomination on September 15, with Adhikari likely to campaign for her. The by-election is a prestige battle for Adhikari, who previously represented Nandigram from 2021 to 2026.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) faces internal division over the party’s poll symbol. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has fielded Sanchita Pradhan (Dey) for Nandigram, while the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction has nominated Mohammad Eteshamul Haque. Both factions have sought the grass and twin flowers symbol, which Banerjee designed in 1998. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to decide which faction will be granted the symbol.

The by-elections also include Rejinagar, where the BJP has nominated Sakharav Sarkar. The Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) leader Humayun Kabir, who won both Naoda and Rejinagar seats in May, has vacated Rejinagar. His son Golam Nabi Azad is the AJUP candidate there. The CPI(M)-led Left Front and Congress have also nominated candidates for both seats.

The results for the by-elections will be announced on October 9. The deadline for filing nominations was September 16, with both TMC factions required to submit additional documents to the ECI to establish their claim on the symbol. Both factions met chief electoral commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi last week.

The BJP’s victory in the May 6 elections secured 207 seats in West Bengal’s 294-member assembly, with the TMC securing 80. The BJP won one more seat, Falta, in a re-poll. The assembly speaker recognized 58 rebel TMC legislators as the principal opposition party in the House, prompting Mamata Banerjee to approach the Supreme Court, which referred the matter to the ECI. The by-elections mark a significant political shift in the state, with multiple factions vying for influence in the wake of the BJP’s rise to power.